The Chaos Child
by The-Caitiff
Summary: More happened on that fateful Halloween than anyone could have ever known. The effects of some Old Family traditions might take years to show.


Disclaimer; I do not own the intellectual propertied related to the Harry Potter series. No profit is being made, this was done solely for the amusement of the author.

A/N; Wow, more than two years since I posted anything for Harry Potter or anything at all come to think of it. I wonder if anyone is still out there... Hopefully I might be able to update some of my old stories but this one has been sitting around not even half started for quite a while.

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**The Chaos Child** Chapter 1 by the Caitiff.

**Halloween 1981**

"…And on this night when the veil between the realms is thinnest we invite the gods, goddesses, and Powers to join us in this celebration of Samhain, All Hallows Eve, one of the most magical nights of the year." James Potter ended his family's Halloween tradition as he sat down to eat the feast the House Elves had prepared.

"I don't understand why you keep that silly tradition," his wife said as she spooned peas into baby Harry's mouth, "You know I don't believe that stuff."

"Lily, this is just something the Potter family, and many others, have always done. Maybe you are right and there is only one God, but shouldn't we still be polite and invite him and his angels to our table? Tradition is what keeps the Pureblood community alive. Each family has its small rituals or observances; we try to remember where we came from." He explained while dishing a meal onto a fourth plate symbolic of their invitation.

"It just doesn't feel right to me." Lily replied.

"That's alright," he patted his wife's hand, "I respect that and will never ask you to join anything you don't feel comfortable with. When Harry is old enough I will tell him the meaning and importance of these things, but we will let him decide whether to continue the traditions or not."

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In the spirit realm a select few Powers did indeed gather to celebrate with them. So few families remembered the spirits even on this night, so they gathered to take advantage of it while it lasted. What most people did not understand was the spirits needed to be recognized by the humans to continue on. Some like the great Stag watched over certain families, while most drifted from one center of belief to the next.

"Why do you watch over this pathetic group of mortals? It sounds as if your belief is about to whither and die. You should move on before they take you with them." One of the spirits asked Stag.

"You have never understood the great pact between the realms. You think only of yourself and the chaos you can cause. Once long ago I was trapped in the mortal realm and was being chased by hunters." Stag began recalling his tale. "As I ran from them, I crossed onto this very property and almost gored the man who lived here in my haste to escape. Godric could see that I was no mere stag of the woods and gave me sanctuary in his home. When the hunters arrived he refused to say where I was and drove them from his estates. A pact between us began that day when he helped me return home. Since that day I have served as the Patron spirit of his line. This man James believes in his traditions and legends with a fire that I have not seen in a long time. That is why I gifted him with my form. He will not let our pact die so easily."

The gathered spirits shifted restlessly, some kept to the great pact and a few had individual pacts in the past. The others had drifted from their duties as humans drifted from theirs. True seers became less common as the spirits and people involved neglected to form the bonds. Animagi became an extreme rarity when humans decided they were better than the "beasts" and refused to accept their primal sides. Neither the spirits who kept the pacts nor those who ignored them wished to perpetuate the argument Stag and the Chaos spirit were starting. They had gathered to feed on the belief here and a fight was the last thing they needed.

"I would not be so sure Stag." A spirit called as it entered, this spirit was larger and far more powerful than the rest. It exuded power that ceased all the petty squabbles that were breaking out. "The future is unclear. Tonight is a turning point that not even I can see past."

"Fate," Stag bowed on his forelegs, "You grace us with your presence."

"A choice has been made, great Change approaches. Stag, tonight is the night to fulfill your pact as you have never before." Fate told him.

"What must I do?"

"Watch." Fate pointed into the mortal realm and the gathered spirits turned to view the quiet family scene once more.

00000

As the Potters were half way through the dessert course, the door bell rang.

"I'll get it, it's probably just Sirius or Pete looking for a little fun." James said with a grin on his face. "Why don't you take Harry upstairs and put him to bed, it looks like he's about fall asleep anyway. Then we can have some fun of our own." James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh you! Alright you go get rid of your scoundrel friends, and I'll take care of our little devil." Lily wiped a bit of pumpkin pie of Harry's face and picked him up. She headed towards the stairs as James went to the front room.

The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming, keep your robes on!" James yelled good naturedly. He opened the door. Two people were standing on his front step as he did so.

"Such appalling manners to keep your guests waiting Potter." Lord Voldemort said chidingly. "We'll be coming in now."

James was shocked into obedience as he stepped aside. Peter looked at him sadly as he passed. Voldemort looked around the small home.

"I see you even set me a place. How nice," the Dark Lord gave him a smile that clearly said he was toying with him.

"Oooh, pumpkin pie!" Peter said as he abandoned his friend in his hour of need. James smirked inwardly with a sick sense gallows humor. Let the rat have pie, James already ate all the whipped cream, and the dessert would be ruined.

In the spirit world, Stag saw the man he was bound to too shocked to move. With a great effort he crossed the realms and slammed into James Potter's body, combining his strength with James' and giving them both the will to fight. James Potter leaped forward and partially transformed his head as he slammed it against the Dark Lord. Voldemort stumbled back and put a hand to his forehead where the partially developed antlers on James' head had split his skin. He stared at the blood on his fingers for a few seconds. No one had ever dared to head butt the Dark Lord.

"Lily! Take Harry and run! It's Him! Go! Run, I'll hold him off!" James yelled before he threw himself at the Dark Lord again. He knew he could not defeat the Dark Lord in a magical duel but he'd be damned if he wouldn't buy his family some time physically.

James slammed the Dark Lord to the ground and began pumping his fists into Voldemort's exposed face and chest, using his knees to hold his arms out of the way. He managed two good punches to Voldemort's nose and one in his gut before a silent banishing charm knocked him clear.

Voldemort got up enraged. People were supposed to cower in fear when in his mighty presence! Potter was breaking all the rules. "Wand out Potter! It is time to die like a man, not some muggle scum. Crucio." He hissed in anger

James rolled clear and sent a stunner in return which was batted aside without thought. Voldemort sent an entrails expelling curse at him and he barely managed to bring up a shield. James transfigured two columns into wild boars and set them on his opponent. Voldemort gave two flicks of his wand and sent the boars back at James. James banished them and sent a bone crushing curse which again was deflected.

"I grow tired of this game, you lack creativity and have no concept of true power. Good bye James Potter, Avada Kedavra." A look of shock came over James' face as he fell to the floor dead.

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With a whooshing sound James found himself in the spirit world with Stag and the others. He looked around a little fearfully, barely comprehending what he was seeing. "You're him aren't you? You're the great stag Godric Gryffindor saved."

"I am." The stag confirmed, "I am sorry we could not stop him my child. Soon you will be permitted to pass on but we must watch as events play out first."

"Please, you must help them! They are Potters too." James begged.

"Your wife is not of Godric's blood and does not follow our ways. She would fight me. The child is but a babe." Stag said mournfully.

Silently Fate pointed for them to watch. They saw Voldemort approach the nursery. They heard Lily beg for the life of her only child. With a blast of green light Lily joined them in the spirit realm. The chaos spirit began cackling madly not far from the group of worried watchers.

"Do it! Kill the child! Release me into the world once again!" If the spirit were a human it would be bouncing on his toes with glee.

"You heartless bastard!" James roared.

"The summoning is nearly complete. You invited me here, gave me sustenance, and now the three fold sacrifice is nearly complete." Chaos cackled.

"What sacrifice?" Lily asked Stag.

It was Fate that answered. "According to the old ways, the ritual to give him human form requires a three part sacrifice. A warrior, a maiden, and an innocent must be sacrificed on Samhain to bring him through the veil into the land of the mortals. He will then take the body of one of those sacrificed and sweep the land sowing confusion and disorder."

A bolt of green energy hit young Harry. Chaos laughed as he was surrounded by a golden glow and began to fade from the spirit realm. The killing curse rebounded from Harry's body and destroyed Voldemort's form.

"I guess that answers which body he will inhabit." A nearby spirit grimaced.

"My baby…" Lily broke down in sobs.

"Wait!" James yelled. He turned to Fate. "You said he was using the old ways. If those are the rules we are using, I demand an equal trade. Everything has a price. My wife willingly sacrificed her life so that our son may live and I sacrificed mine for both of them. Return his spirit to his body."

"She gave her life before he died, there is nothing I can do." Fate said.

"Time is mutable." The other spirit answered her. "We cannot allow Him to go unchecked. I will lend my power over time. Send the boy back."

"But causality…" Fate began.

"Causality has no hold on me." The spirit glared at Fate. "The boy goes back, an equal trade. If you will allow Him to abuse the old ways we will too."

Together Stag, the time spirit, and Fate pushed Harry's spirit back into his body just as the chaos spirit disappeared from the spirit realm. Baby Harry began crying in his cradle while the chaos spirit began wreaking havoc. Within moments Godric's Hollow was ablaze and falling to pieces.

"Hurry, we must bind Him." Stag told the others. The spirits worked together chanting and laying magic around the boy from across the veil. The fires stopped growing after a few moments and there was a bright flash. The spirits continued working and there was another flash. A third flash occurred minutes later. They heard Hagrid breaking down what was left of the front door moments later and they scrambled to add one more binding to the child before Hagrid took him beyond their influence.

"My poor Harry... What will happen to my baby boy?" Lily begged them to speak.

Stag approached her and nuzzled her chin gently. "He will live. We bound the spirit as well we could but much now depends on your son. The spirit is bound in four ways. The first binding is the most important and will give your son time to grow strong. At the bare minimum the spirit must wait for the third Eristic anniversary before he can break free again. An Eristic anniversary comes in multiples of five as it is the number of chaos, and he must wait for the third because of the three other bindings. They will break if your child gives in to three of the seven deadly sins. The Seven Sins are far older than the muggle Papacy. Seven has forever been a magical number and almost any thing that could be considered a sin has its roots in at least one of those seven. If he commits an act purely and completely motivated by one the Seven Sins, the binding will slip just a little."

"So if Harry commits these deadly sins by the time he turns sixteen the spirit will be able to break free that Halloween?" She asked.

"Or twenty five years from now on the fifth Eristic anniversary or the twenty fifth which is five to the third power. If he is not raised in a loving home or walks in the Dark, he will have to face this spirit within himself at some point in his life. We cannot force the spirit to leave, but we have given your son time and opportunity. It is his battle now." The time spirit told them.

"So my son has to live his life sharing a body with an evil spirit?"

"No. The spirit that resides in him is one of Chaos and is neither good nor evil. It brings change, confusion, and disorder, but is not inherently one or the other." Fate decreed.

"I'd hate to see this poor boy's luck though, that kind of thing simply has to leave a mark." One of the spirits said.

"Come, it is time for you to move on." Fate told the Potters. "You may watch your son from the afterlife if you wish."

00000 **May 1996**

"Crucio!" Harry yelled at Bellatrix. The crimson beam left his wand and caught the surprised witch in the chest. She fell screaming as Harry felt something snap inside him. 'Wrath!' a voice whispered triumphantly in a forgotten corner of his mind.

00000 **June 1996**

'Sirius wouldn't want you to mope around. He lived life to the fullest and would want you to as well.' Harry's newfound conscience told him a few weeks later while they sat in Privet Drive.

'But I miss him so much. It's my fault he died.' Harry argued.

'Then it is your responsibility to live for him. He always was a ladies man, let's go find a beautiful young woman and do Padfoot proud.'

'Professor Dumbledore won't even let me leave the house.' Harry thought sullenly.

'He works at a school for crying out loud. He isn't your father to ground you as if you misbehaved. You are the last scion of a proud and ancient Pureblood family. You don't have to listen to him. Besides, that Tonks is a pretty good looker and you won't even need to leave the wards.'

'Aren't you supposed to be my conscience?'

'Yes, but as your conscience I really do think we need to do something. Sitting around wallowing in misplaced grief will not help us. We crave something to do. Sirius was a good man but unless you have some power over time we don't know about he is gone now. We need to move forward not dwell on what is behind us.'

"Boy! Where's my breakfast?" Uncle Vernon yelled.

"Well, as you say, something to do…" Harry muttered aloud as he got up to go downstairs for another day of drudgery.

A/N; To break the seal, it has to be giving in completely to that sin. The cruciatus is different from Harry's other acts of anger because he had no other motivation but anger and revenge for cursing her. She was in retreat and his friends were getting out of danger, but he gave in to the rage. I cannot remember any other canon acts wherein Harry gives himself over to wrath, lust, gluttony, envy, greed, sloth, or pride to that extent. He needs separate acts for each sin to unchain the spirit completely.


End file.
